Government to fast-track legislation for mandatory FGM reporting

The government intends to change the law to make reporting suspected cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) mandatory prior to May’s general election.

Crime prevention minister Lynne Featherstone said the government wants to make mandatory reporting of FGM law within the next two months.

She said the department is still to decide what the sanction for failing to report FGM will be, but added that the government intends to respond to the consultation soon, with a view to legislating in the current session of parliament, which ends on 30 March at the latest.